Q:
How to know if my head gasket is blown

asked by
Jett H
on
September 11, 2016

I've had problems with losing coolant buy can't find a leak. I replaced the water pump cause it went out. Today i changed the thermostat and for the first time my car blew thick white smoke out of exhaust. It slow went to a constant white smoke but not so thick. My low coolant light is on now. The coolant reservoir starts to overflow right away. And now it's having a high idle and stalls after idle comes down. Smells like burnt antifreeze. Still no coolant mixing with oil or vise versa. Please help.

My car has 192000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hello. The white smoke coming out of the exhaust is a sure sign that the head gasket is blown or the head is cracked. This engine is very common to have cracked heads between the valves when the engine has been overheated. You may find cracks in the heads when the engine is torn down to check for blown head gaskets.

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